India. SABMiller to set up new brewery in Karnataka

UK-based beer major SABMiller today said it will set up a new brewery Karnataka by 2013 as it expects its sales to double in the next five years. "We are expanding our production capacity at present. We will set up a greenfield brewery in Karnataka to serve the market," SABMiller India Director (Corporate Affairs) Sundeep Kumar said. The company is in the process of finalising the location and purchasing land for the purpose, he added. Kumar, however, declined to give details such as likely capacity and investment in the proposed plant saying "we will be able to tell you only after acquiring the land". Usually, about 18 months are required to set up a such facility and the planned unit is likely to be operational by 2013, he added. The company has 10 breweries in various places such as Neemrana, Paradeep, Aurangabad, Pondicherry and Bangalore with a total annual production of 60 million cases. It also has three contract bottlers. "If the market grows at the current rate, we expect our sales and production to be double in the next five years," Kumar said, adding that the company would only expand its existing units after the completion of the proposed brewery. According to SABMiller estimates, the Indian beer market is around 200 million cases annually and it is growing at 15 per cent a year. The company claims to have about 25 per cent of the domestic market with brands like Haywards 5000, Foster's, Indus Pride, Peroni, Royal Challenge and Knock Out.